Chalk Paint Experiences and results?

[leehljp]

ON this threadthis thread I was searching for a finish for a bunk bed that I am making for my daughter.

CapnCarl mentioned "Chalk Paint" to me. A friend on LOML mentioned that she had used chalk paint and it was her own mixing. Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint is fairly expensive, but very good. Carl also made a good comment that "Chalk Paint" might be a good thread on its own.

Anyone care to give their experiences and results either with purchased chalk paint or home mixed chalk paint?

[capncarl]

I had my first exposure to chalk paint during some of my antique shop plundering a few years back. Being really disturbed by what some of these antique store owners were doing to wonderful old antiques by smearing a coat of some awful color paint on the corners and other spots of an old Chippendale dresser and top coating it with some milky pastel off white paint and furthering the destruction of what was once someone's pride and joy by sanding thru the pastel top coat to reveal the ugly undercoating! I told my wife that these people should be packed in the drawer of that furniture and it should be burned to keep them from doing it again! She replied that a lot of people like it, it's called Shabby Chic. The more I looked around I found it was everywhere. The bad part of it was I was beginning to like it.....if done in to the right piece. I took it on myself to learn what this chalk paint stuff was about, how to do it, if possible how to do it better and maybe make my own chalk paint for a Tiny Table project that I had been rolling around in my head for some time.
Fast forward a couple of years attached is a photo of my first run of Tiny Tables using chalk paint that I made myself. In a couple of days I'll post some of my results from my chalk paint experiments, gotta find my notes.

capncarl

[leehljp]

I have not quite got to the point that you have. The distressed and antique look - except in rare cases, doesn't appeal to me. When it comes to distreased and antique, I prefer old natural wood. But that is me and LOML is different and what she says goes!

AS to the chalk paint, I have been looking at different formulas and even then, there is not too much difference. One thing that does kinda seem wrong is the addition of just "water" to the plaster of paris. Water might thin the p-o-p, but from many recommendations over the fast few years is that water by itself does something to the latex, So, the addition of floe-trol helps. While Floe-trol is helping in " smooth flow" through the sprayer nozzle as much as anything else, it stands to reason that the addition of what ever floe-trol is, it does smooth out the latex better than water alone. Maybe it is a little like surfactant to water spray.

Anyway, if water by itself is not the best for diluting latex and floe-trol does a good job (based on many people's recommendations) would the addition of a tablespoon of floe-trol to the water as it is mixed with p-o-p and paint help it go on more smoothly?

Just a thought.

I will bet within a couple of years we will see special "additive" like floe-trol for chalk paints, especially now that Lowes has their own brand and it is gaining in popularity.

[capncarl]

One thing that impressed me about Commecially produced chalk paint was its coverage. One quart of the $35 chalk paint might cover a bunk bed. After the desired finished is achieved I think that I would use thinned wiping poly instead of the recommended wax for a final finish.

In all of my testing I substituted Flotrol for water. I really believe that most, if not all, of these chalk paint want-to-be's is created by people that do not have a clue what latex paint is and what the additives they use is doing.

My experiment with plaster of Paris chalk paint was my least popular. Contrary to the reviews I read it was awful. Getting the mixture thinned enough to apply with a brush was daunting. After a few minutes applying the pop chalk paint the brush would load up with concrete making further painting mess up and the brush has to be washed out. I didn't find the pop chalk paint application to be anywhere as smooth as the in-modified water panini would have been. The whole purpose of chalk paint is to apply a finish that can be easily sanded to reveal old finishes under it to give a used or antique look. This is not easily happening with this concrete reinforced rubber paint. I've sanded marine epoxy that was filled with marble dust that sanded easier that this mess.

The other additives being used for home made chalk paint is calcium (agricultural lime) and unsanded grout. I'll dig out my notes and elaborate on them later.

capncarl

[KenBurris]

My dad had several cans of milk paint powder in his basement when we were young - 50's they were green and yellow cans, about 4" x 3" x 2.5" with an oval lid

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Milk-Paint

[capncarl]

Milk paint is supposedly different from chalk paint. The other additives that the chalk paint want-to-be that I tried was calcium carbonate which is agricultural lime. The results were not much better than the plaster of Paris concrete paint recipes. I bet the ph was all over the chart with this recipe. The other recipe was unsanded grout, which didn't work as well either and in reality it is probably plaster of Paris.

My next experiment with making my own chalk paint will be to use a product that I have not noticed in the chalk paint want-to-be sites. It will be to use Zinnser Primecoat2 prime and sealer which is water base but I'm not sure is latex base and mix with Sheetrock mud.

My synopsis of this attempt at making my own chalk paint using others recipes? Another example of using something, in this case latex paint which is rubber paint for something that it was not intended to be used for. Trying to imitate chalk paint which Anne Sloan manufacturers by adding plaster of Paris, lime or grout to latex paint only results in latex paint that is cut with some powder. In is terrible to sand and probably does not meet the claim that it can be painted over surfaces without being sanded and primed. But if it makes the creators happy then so be it and enjoy your creation!
capncarl

[leehljp]

Capn'

It is terrible to sand and probably does not meet the claim that it can be painted over surfaces without being sanded and primed.

What is it that makes it terrible to sand? Hand sanding? ROS sanding? Or just Gritty? Or, like sanding concrete?

This specific aspect is making me think twice about attempting to make my own.


I wonder what Plaster of Paris would be like if a cup at a time were diluted to a brushable liquid with Floe-trol? It sure would create the need for a lot of sanding, IMO.

[capncarl]

The plaster of Paris/latex paint mixture tended to load up the brush quickly and resulted in a lot of brush marks. The more you rubbed it the worse it got and required sanding. The sanding is what I call terrible because the paint is still latex and wants to ball up on the sandpaper, while the plaster of Paris made it tough to get anywhere with the sanding. It doesn't add grit. On a large surface a ros always beats hand sanding. I believe that there is something chemically going on with these mixtures, not just adding bulk like adding glass powder to fiberglass or wood fibers to white glue.
I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from experimenting with their own mixtures. These replys are just my unbiased opinions of an experiment that I really wanted to work! Not bashing others that create these mixtures and love them. I am inclined to believe that the Zinnser Primecoat2 or another similar primer that is not latex base with calcium added it and will work as well as the expensive name brands of chalk paints. Previouse use of Primecoat proved that it sanded great like real chalk paint. I just didn't have any on hand to experiment with.

One of the quirks with real chalk paint that is all over the Internet is the waxing process. Maybe the people writing all of this do not like the work involved with waxing? A lot of replys state that the waxing changes the colors. Waxing appears to be necessary as it seems to harden the finish and certainly seals it from dirt, coffee and other contaminates. My next chalk paint job will not have wax but will be sealed with wiping poly or my new favorite sealer shelac.
Of course, depending on how much time and material I have invested in the job I will still buy Annie Sloans chalk paint.
capncarl

[capncarl]

Update on chalk paint. Today I dropped by my friendly builder supply/hardware store for some stain and the mgr, pointed out a new line of Rust-Oleum Chalked paint that they now carry. This gentleman helped me a lot when I was trying to make my own chalk paint for my tiny tables without breaking the bank. At that time the best chalk paint was selling for about $35. a quart X 6 different colors. The Rust-Oleum sells for about $15 / quart. Note that chalk paint bought at specialty shops is what color that is in the can or you can order dfrom their color chart. This new paint has the typical pallet but it can also be custom tinted in the store. We set up a test in the store and this stuff works great, sands like sheet rock mud, covers great, levels good, everything you are looking for in chalk paint. It's a keeper! Top coat with wax or with their clear sealer. I'm junking all my experimental chalk paint now, no need to keep it with this material at this cost!
capncarl

[leehljp]

Thanks for the update and new Rust-Oleum. I am about two to three weeks from painting the beds. My daughter wants semi-gloss white. I am using a BIN Zinger shellac base coat to seal in a few spots of pine sap areas. After that, I will make my decision.

[JimD]

The condo we bought for the girls at college has chalk paint on the walls in one bedroom we aren't using at the moment. We plan to paint over it but expect to have to use a stain blocking primer first. The couple that applied it apparently had kids. My only other experience is even less direct. My son and his friend painted an old Cherokee with grey caulk paint. It was one of several cars they have make serviceable and then given away. It looked a little like the "ice" finish some high end cars get. They told the new owner what it was and not to expect too much out of the house paint car finish.

[capncarl]

Rust Oleum chalk paint update. I purchased a quart of Rust Oleums chalk paint to finish the Flip Flop Tiny Table Christmas present for my wife. She wanted linen white, nothing that I could find in a spray can so I knuckled under and resorted to brushing on this chalk paint. My own quality control standards does not require the finish to be "perfect" but it won't have brush marks, not possible on these small tables with chalk paint. Last year I produced 10 coaster top tables that were painted and it took me probably 10 hrs each to complete the paint, and I still have 3 that have not sold yet! Not my favorite finish. 5 coats of chalk paint later I still can't get the brush marks out! This stuff is great for finishing an old dresser, but not my tables! I will say that Rust Oleum chalk paint works great! It goes on really smooth and sands just as it should, it sands off just like drywall sheet rock mud! In reality, several coats of this chalk paint on any kind of furniture that has cracks, rough cracked paint etc and it would be a great base coat for a good finish! Or, used as intended with several different base colors this chalk paint will produce a good shabby sheik finish!
capncarl